Those Who Fear the Darkness (BloodRunes: Book 2) (25 page)

Her encounter with the King was also foremost
in her mind. So it had been he that was involved in the thwarting
of the assassin. But why? Could he really not have known that
someone was using the slave bracers on his army? And who had his
captors been? Things were getting very complicated.

She wandered to the temple at the edge of the
Great River and inquired about the Oracle there. Apparently, when
there was a question of great importance, the Oracle was consulted
and she passed on the Word of the Three as an answer. Katya had
been surprised to learn that this service was not reserved only for
the higher class or just the Triumvirate but that anyone could pose
a question. An answer was not always received but Katya had time on
her hands and was curious as well. Her only real hesitation was in
choosing which question.

She padded her way through the temple doors,
removing her shoes at the entrance and donning the white cloak that
one of the Oracle’s priestesses handed her. The woman led her down
the stone pathway through the archway held up by ornately carved
columns towering above them on either side. Katya was surprised
when after several hundred yards the stone walls between them
disappeared and the temple opened up. Fresh smelling air blew in at
them, rustling Katya’s hair as they stepped into the airy section
and the path suddenly widened, curving around in a huge circle and
expanding out over the water. In the middle sat a white-clad
figure, dipping her fingertips into the pool of water beneath her
which Katya saw opened straight down into the Great River.

The priestess led her towards the woman - the
Oracle - and left without a word. The Oracle looked up at Katya and
smiled.

“Welcome,” she said in a resonating voice,
“what can I do for you?”

Katya had hoped that the question she most
wanted answered would magically spring to mind when she was finally
here, but she found it still eluded her and she opened her mouth to
say so when the Oracle’s voice suddenly cut her off.

“
Your soul is marred by many evils. The
path to becoming whole once more will not be an easy one. Until
such time as you are reunited with your missing half, those you
cherish most will be fated to suffer.”
The woman’s eyes had
rolled back into her head, but she turned towards Katya as though
she could still see through them which had an unnerving effect.
“
There is light within you yet. Follow it, and all will be well.
Your fate is tied with the world’s. Save it, and you save yourself.
Only then will you discover who you truly are.”

Katya stared at her in disbelief. This was
the type of guidance the gods had for her? Save the world if you
want your answers? That was no small hurdle.

The Oracle blinked a few times after reciting
the Word and looked up at Katya as if nothing had happened, “Did
you have a question?” She took in Katya’s dumbfounded expression.
“Or perhaps you have already been given your answer?” She looked
down at the river and trailed her fingertips along its surface
reverently.

Katya turned on her heel and marched off
without looking back.

*

Layna knocked softly on Aria’s door. She had
been surprised by the girl’s request of her company. Though they’d
spent a fair amount of time together the past few weeks, they were
hardly what you’d call close, and Layna would have expected her to
have surrounded herself with friends and family in her time of
grief.

The door opened and a red-faced Aria ushered
her inside. Layna entered silently, watching the girl
worriedly.

“Please, sit,” Aria gestured to the two
armchairs and she and Layna each took one. Aria started pouring the
tea but was shaking so badly that the teacup rattled against its
saucer in her hand. Layna reached out and took it from her gently,
pouring the rest of the tea into it, and placing it before her
before pouring her own.

Aria gave her a nod of thanks and sat there
watching her. Layna took a sip of tea to cover her discomfort.
Aria’s eyes looked so dull; her father’s death was taking its toll
on her. Aria still said nothing so Layna cleared her throat and
asked tentatively, “How are you doing?” then took another sip of
tea.

“How am I doing?” Aria echoed lifelessly,
“Well, someone just murdered my father and there’s the chance that
it was someone pretending to be my friend.”

“Oh no,” Layna said sympathetically, setting
the cup down. The tea seemed to be giving her a stomach ache, or
perhaps it was the stress of the situation. “Have the investigators
found something?”

Aria looked disgusted. “They won’t even use
all the resources available to them even for his murder. After
everything he did.”

Layna’s stomach was starting to feel very
uncomfortable and she shifted in her chair.

Aria went on, “But I’m not afraid to do what
I have to in order to avenge him.” She paused and cocked her head
to the side, examining the effects the tea was having on Layna.
“What’s the matter Layna? You’re looking rather uncomfortable.”

Layna’s stomach was in agony now, and it was
spreading, and to make matters worse, Aria was working herself up
into a tirade that appeared to be inexplicably aimed at her.

She continued, obviously angry now and Layna
was dumbfounded as she spat, “Is that perhaps because you‘re
feeling guilty? Hmm? Guilty for killing my father?”

Layna tried to get her lips to move, but she
couldn’t concentrate on them long enough to make any sound.

“You can’t even deny it, can you? That’s
because I made sure you can’t lie! How could you do such a thing? I
trusted you!” Aria had jumped to her feet and she stood over Layna
now, pointing in her face.

“I didn’t,” Layna finally managed to choke
out, “I think there’s something wrong…” foam bubbled into her mouth
and stars danced before her eyes. She felt her body start to
convulse uncontrollably and she heard Aria gasp and saw the woman’s
eyes widen before the pain became too intense to notice anything
else…

CHAPTER 14

Nathair felt a sudden horrible wrenching of
his soul.

Something was wrong. He concentrated his
being on his inner self, searching for the source of the unbalance.
He traced it along the paths of power...no. This couldn't be.

The life of one of his girls was draining and
draining fast. He couldn't stand losing her. Feeling the life of
her, all that power slowly just draining away was unbearable.
Forgetting the feigning of bonds, he drew upon the power in the
stone now embedded within his chest. He could feel the heat of it
rising as he accessed it, its throbbing pulse matching his own
quickening heartbeat. He heard gasps of his two captors, and felt
spells being flung at him. He waved them away with impatience.

Something inside him stirred, then suddenly
woke with a vengeance and he felt as though it was literally trying
to claw its way out of him.

He threw back his head and howled in agony
and brought shaking hands before his eyes. The skin was peeling
away, and black scales took its place, each one burning with
searing pain as it formed. He howled again and fire sprang forth
from his lips, charring them to ash. He stumbled forwards from the
pain as two great wings ripped out of his back, tearing through the
skin with ease. After that all he could think was pain and
darkness.

*

It was free! The being drank thirstily from
the powers around it, taking in more and more to break free from
this puny prison and build from pure power the form it truly should
be. It felt the agony of its host, but felt no sympathy for their
shared body. The being didn't understand such feelings. It poured
every drop of energy it could into the making of its new vessel.
The howl of pain turned to laughter and the being opened its new
eyes.

Ah! To see the world again!

Two frightened creatures stood before it,
cowering in intense fear.

Rightly so
, it thought smugly before
biting one's head off. Gulping it down in one easy swallow, it
darted its elongated neck forward to grab hold of the other by the
leg as it turned to flee. With a quick jerk of its mighty maw, it
expertly flung the morsel into the air and caught it neatly,
downing it in two bites. It licked its newly formed lips, and ran
the forked tongue over the new razor sharp rows of teeth.

It took to the air, reveling in the feel of
the wind beneath it.

But just shy of the completion of the being’s
new form, progress suddenly stopped. It felt a tiny urge in the
back of its mind. A foreign thought made its way into its
consciousness.

She’s dying!

The being paused and pondered this oddity for
a moment.

She’s dying!
The voice repeated,
screaming its will into its head.

The being batted the presence away like a
pesky insect and returned its attention to becoming fully
awake.

The thought stubbornly pushed itself to the
surface again, refusing to be ignored.
I WILL find my girls.
The being pushed it deeper, back down into the depths more forcibly
this time, becoming annoyed by the interruption. But even before it
could turn its full attention back to what it had been doing, the
annoyance surged forward once again, like a trapped animal clawing
its way to freedom. There was such force behind the thought that it
wracked the being to its core.

Confused, it turned its full attention now to
this alien presence and probed at it roughly.

It was the host!

It was too stunned to repel it again. What
was the host’s mind still doing here? It should have been expelled
when he took over the body and made it its own. It reached for the
mind and shifted through the memories harshly. So, he thought he
was a god himself did he?

Before it had time to finish the thought, the
host made a final thrust into the front of their shared
consciousness, and the being found itself inexplicably pushed back
down into its dungeon. But the door wasn’t shut as tightly as it
had been before, and he was free to watch the creature who had
managed to withstand its possession.

*

She’s dying!
Nathair mind-screamed
with all of his might and suddenly found himself tumbling back into
his body.

Except that it wasn’t his body anymore, and
he was flying! Nathair’s eyes widened as he gazed down at the
ground far below him and in his surprise he started teetering
dangerously against the wind.

Without the mind with experience in flying in
control he was working against the body’s instincts when he tried
to move the way he normally would.

He flapped his reptilian wings wildly but he
only managed to flail about in descent, but he was still falling.
He tried desperately to not concentrate on what his body was doing,
telling it to fly without consciously trying to control the
individual muscle movements. As the ground came rushing closer, he
felt a nudge in his mind, and as he focused on it realized that it
was the knowledge of flight.

He grasped at it frantically and as the
memories of thousands of years of experience with this body washed
over him, he spread his massive wings and caught the air, moments
before it would have been too late to pull up.

It wrenched his flight muscles terribly in
doing so, but no more damage was done than he had endured
before.

The thought took Nathair by surprise.
Before?
Now that his flight was in control, his wings beat
effortlessly as though they had done it a million times.

They have
. A smug thought bubbled to
the surface from within his head.

Who are you?
Nathair thought back,
distracted by the awesome power of his new form. But whatever it
was did not deign to answer him. Nathair only spent a moment to
marvel at his new ability, then focus his vision on the ground far
below. He had another moment of admiration for this form as he
could easily make out the forms on the ground below though he knew
to them he must only be a dark blot against the sky.

He got his bearings quickly and turned
towards Treymayne.

He briefly entertained the thought of
jumping, as he had done with Jezebel, but the memory of how weak he
had been afterwards made him hesitant. He would be of no use
healing her if he was too weak to stand. He felt a strangely proud
and yet annoyed feeling in the back of his mind that he would not
be weak this time, but he did not want to risk his girl’s life on
this gamble.

His thoughts were drawn to Katya and almost
instantly he found himself within her mind. She didn’t seem to
notice his presence and he filed this interesting piece of
information away for later contemplation - he had not been able to
see past her shields previously. Foremost in her mind were memories
of Layna and he realized that she had tracked the girl down. What
luck! He quickly used the information from Katya to connect with
the dying girl.

He then turned his attention to Layna’s mind.
It was a turbulent whirlwind of pain, the black aura sweeping over
her as the poison took hold. He quickly sent a thought to halt its
spread and started the tedious process of drawing it out of her.
Over this distance, the work was tiresome and he stopped short as
soon as he was sure she would live. He spared another moment to put
her farther into a healing trance, to be awakened when he wanted
her, and withdrew.

His girls were safe. Now he could concentrate
on what in the name of the Three had just happened to him…

*

Katya suddenly had a strong urge to check on
Layna and she sprinted to the girl’s quarters, drawing strange
looks from those she passed in the hallways. She wasn’t there and
Katya wracked her brain for where she would be. Gryffon was busy
with some sort of official business so she wouldn’t be with him.
Perhaps she was visiting with the Lady Aria again.